• The question of establishing protective precautions for minors 

• The question of ensuring equal access to education for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority groups

• The question of consolidating legal mechanisms to prevent and prosecute violence & discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals

As the Deputy Chair for Human Rights Council, I had the privilege to have a fun conversation with Ms Julie Arnold, a DP psychology teacher at UNIS Hanoi. It was her third year as a teacher in UNIS, and what brought her there is because of all the amazing and various opportunities that UNIS provided. 

My first question for Ms Arnold was “what got you interested in working with education?” She answered that she has always been interested in education from the beginning because she was inspired by her teachers back when she was a student. She always had the passion of teaching, learning and inspiring others. I felt like asking this question was an excellent idea because I’ve always wanted to know the motivation behind a teacher’s career and why they chose their pathway as an educator. 

The second question I asked Ms Arnold is, “as a committee chair, I have to build relationships between myself and my co-chairs who come from other schools. What advice do you have for team building?” She replied that for any team building, it is important to take time to make sure that we all have a shared expectations and vision. In other words, it is crucial to make an agreement on what our goals are. This will help everyone be on the same page, while also listening to each other. 

The last question I asked her is “as a chair I need to make sure all my delegates feel motivated and engaged. For this, what ice breaker activity would you use?” Ms Arnold answered that it is important to find a commonality between everyone. Finding common points between all people is a great starting point to make an ice breaker where everyone would feel comfortable participating in. This question was important to ask and I’m glad I got an answer because lots of delegates tend to become unmotivated, unengaged or really shy in the conference, and an ice breaker that would work for everyone would break that issue. 

Thank you for your time, Ms Arnold!

As the Deputy Chair for Human Rights Council, I had the privilege to have a fun conversation with Ms Caitlin Winstanley, the Deputy Principal for Middle School. It was her fourth year as a teacher in UNIS, and what brought her here is the international community, where students from different backgrounds get together, and how the 6 UNIS values resonate with her a lot. She also likes the systems in UNIS, such as homebase programming, Service Learning, etc. 

My first question for Ms Arnold was “what got you interested in working with education?” She answered that growing up as a kid, she always enjoyed going to school, finding it enjoyable and challenging herself there. Even as an adult and a college student, she found joy in teaching and inspiring others, so she decided to become a teacher. 

The second question I asked Ms Winstanley is, “as a committee chair I need to make sure all my delegates feel welcome and comfortable. What ice breaker activities would you use for this?” She replied that icebreaker activities that also make introverted and shy people feel comfortable are the best ones, since not all people are extroverts. She said that she’s an introvert herself, so when there were ice breakers that would make people interact with one another directly, she felt a bit unready. When she said this, I felt related since I’m also an introvert myself. So, after hearing this answer, I decided to come up with ice breakers where people have time to think about what they’re going to do. 

The last question I asked her is “as a chair I need to deal with delegates who are unprepared. What strategies do you have for helping people reach their deadlines?” Her answer was that it’s important to be very clear about expectations first, and always be proactive and supportive along the way. If delegates are still unprepared, asking them why they were unprepared will also help.  

Honorable directors, fellow chairs, distinguished delegates, and esteemed guests,

I am Irene Lee, a junior at Shekou International School (SIS), and it is my utmost honor to serve as the Head Chair of the Human Rights Council at UNISMUN M2026. I have been participating in the MUN program since Grade 8, attending over 9 conferences within a time span of three years, and this year's UNISMUN will mark my 5th chairing experience. Outside of MUN, I also like blue or navy objects, singing, playing basketball, and debating about the silliest things in the world, like what I would do if a sunflower grew on top of my head one day :) I am thinking of majoring in pharmaceutical medicine or work in a biology-related field, with a goal of contributing to the our world in a meaningful, positive way. 

In this iteration of UNISMUN, each committee will be advancing with the theme of “Is our rules-based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?”, exploring the role of sovereignty in diplomacy towards international responsibility. The topics in HRC that we will be covering this year are on point with the content of the theme. We will be observing how the UN is able to establish protective precautions for minors, ensure equal access to education for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority groups, and consolidate legal mechanisms to prevent and prosecute violence & discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. 

The discussion of the first topic, the question of establishing protective precautions for minors, will help build the foundation for keeping global adolescents safe under the measures to prevent any possible danger from threatening them. Our second topic on the question of ensuring equal access to education for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority groups particularly combats the inequality in access to education due to factors such as one’s ethnicity, linguistic background, and/or religion. Our last question to be debated on, consolidating legal mechanisms to prevent and prosecute violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, sheds light on the prohibition of discrimination and violence against persons within sexual/gender minority groups through preventative policies and effective follow-up measures. As such, the issues humanity faces that the UN deals with will never stop transforming and evolving, and the international community should never stop adapting to changes and developing. The question is whether the contemporary global framework humanity has is capable of conforming to the complex and intricate issues present in this speedily transforming world, where humanity seeks to come together to achieve collective progress across the globe.

Human rights is defined as the rights inherent to all human beings, no matter the nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. Correspondingly, the Human Rights Council, as a principal UN body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide in the United Nations, plays a vital role in providing necessary aid to those in need, from victims in risks of human rights abuses, to marginalized populations that are easily neglected by the government, and to individuals or communities facing systemic discrimination.

I hope my introduction brings more clarity and understanding of our committee and the role HRC serves in the UN as well. I will put as much time and effort as possible into making this conference not only a fun memory, but also a smooth and successful conference for everyone of us. I look forward to meeting all the new people and making fun memories together in UNISMUN 2026! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my dearest co-chairs, Alison and Katie. We will all be here to support you in any way, no matter how “trivial” you think your inquiry is. I may look quite intimidating without my smile, but I hope none of my delegates are scared to come to me with any questions or concerns by the end of the first or the second day. See you all soon :)

Warm regards,

Irene Seohyun Lee, Head Chair of HRC

Greetings honorable chairs, distinguished delegates and most esteemed guests,

My name is Alison Choi and I am a freshman at UNIS Hanoi. This is my 8th UNISMUN Conference, marking 3rd as a Chair. As someone who’s interested in the topic of human rights and its violations lately, I’m glad to be serving as the Deputy chair for the Human Rights Council for the upcoming M2026 conference. 

The theme for this year’s March 2026 conference is, “Is our rules-based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?” The meaning behind this theme talks about how the framework of laws, regulations and treaties can be adapted and applied to solve challenges regarding current global security and supreme power, while also keeping nations safe and independent. This is a very important question to talk about in 2026 because it helps us understand how to maintain the system of powers, rules and norms to improve the current world situation without conflict, foster cooperation and resolve conflicts peacefully. 

Moving on, the Human Rights Council is a very crucial committee that plays an important role for this conference. HRC in general focuses on maintaining human rights and addressing human rights violations, so being a part of this committee will let us debate about how the system of international laws, agreements and institutions can be applied to develop better rights for all human beings. HRC is a council held by the OHCHR, an UN organization and main body that has taken lots of action in providing assistance for all humans and addressed lots of human rights violations so far. 

That being said, the three topics in HRC this conference are very important to discuss. The first topic is about setting up safety measures in order to protect minors, an ongoing issue regarding minor and children safety. The second topic is about making sure everyone has equal access to education, a basic human right, regardless of their minority group, ethnicity and religion. The last topic focuses on preventing violence, hate and discrimination to LGBTQ+ individuals, which is also one of the biggest issues today.

Overall, those three topics that will be discussed in HRC have been an issue and faced criticism a lot lately, so I hope this conference will turn out to be a very memorable one with lots of participation from all delegates, creating a very fruitful debate. As someone who has been a delegate for five conferences, I understand the struggles of not wanting to speak first and being nervous, but the main goal of MUN is to have fun and learn something new. As a Chair, I hope that all delegates in my committee had a wonderful experience and sees MUN as an open opportunity to grow, think critically and collaborate with everyone.

See you all in the March Conference!

Alison Choi

Honorable chairs, distinguished guests, and most esteemed guests, 

My name is Katie, and I am currently a senior student at Hanoi International School. I am honored to serve as the Procedural Chair for the Human Rights Council (HRC) at the UNISMUN M2026 Conference. Having been part of the MUN community for 5 years, this marks my 10th conference and 3rd as chair. Having been exposed to diverse environments and witnessing different perspectives on justice and identity throughout my life, I have learned that human rights work is fundamentally about understanding people. With this year’s conference theme, “Is our rules-based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?” This resonates strongly with the mandate of the HRC. As global norms are questioned and new crises emerge, we must ask how human rights protections can remain resilient, relevant, and yet responsive.

With that said, our committee will be exploring three urgent issues.

The first topic, the question of establishing protective precautions for minors, focuses on the vulnerabilities children face, including exploration, abuse, displacement, and the impacts of armed conflict. Delegates are encouraged to inspect how international frameworks and cooperation between states can strengthen child protection systems when domestic measures are insufficient or unevenly enforced.

The second topic, ensuring equal access to education for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority groups, addresses persistent inequalities within education systems worldwide. This discussion invites delegates to consider barriers such as language discrimination, geographic marginalization, and unequal resource allocation, while still exploring the inclusive policies that promote social cohesion and long-term development. 

Our final topic, consolidating legal mechanisms to prevent and prosecute violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, confronts one of the more pressing human rights challenges today. Despite progress in some regions, many LGBTQ+ communities continue to face criminalization, social exclusion, and a lack of legal protection. This topic calls for thoughtful debate on how legal frameworks can be strengthened while navigating diverse socio-political contexts.

As we navigate these complex discussions, I encourage you to embrace both the weight and the possibility of the work you are about to undertake. Your ideas have the potential to reimagine how the international community protects those most at risk. I look forward to witnessing your insight and collaboration throughout this conference!

Sincerely, 

Katie Phan Vu